In some communication scenarios, it is desirable to have wireless device pairing, for instance pairing of a mobile radio with multiple wireless accessory devices when the mobile radio and the peripherals implement a wireless protocol, such as Bluetooth, which requires the utilization of a propagating, i.e., electromagnetic, radio signal to send data. One example scenario where such wireless device pairing is desired is in the area of Public Safety. More particularly, Public Safety officers may select mobile radios that implement the Bluetooth protocol from a pool of mobile radios in a multi-unit charger and pair their own wireless accessory devices with the selected mobile radio; and this accessory pairing procedure may occur every time an officer picks up a mobile radio from a pool of available mobile radios maintained at a station house or other location.
Known pairing technologies have shortcomings in providing quick and easy pairing between a mobile radio and multiple wireless accessory devices. For example, Bluetooth protocols require a discovery phase in which the mobile radio locates other available wireless accessory devices for pairing, a selection phase in which the mobile radio user chooses one of the located wireless accessory devices to pair with, and a pairing phase that may involve a user typing a series of symbols (e.g., a PIN, for example decimal digits for Bluetooth and hexadecimal or ASCII characters for IEEE's 802.11b's Wireless Equivalent Privacy (WEP) protocol) to validate that the user is pairing the correct accessory, all of which must be completed before data and/or voice communications may occur between the mobile radio and the wireless accessory accessories. Further, as officers collect more and more wireless accessory devices in and around their person, such as biomedical sensors, video cameras, remote speaker microphones (RSMs), smart glasses, ear buds, etc., the amount of time and number of steps needed to be completed every time the officer obtains a new mobile radio becomes burdensome.
Thus, there exists a need for an improved method and system for wireless device pairing that more quickly and efficiently pairs a new mobile radio with a plurality of wireless accessory devices associated with an officer.
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The apparatus and method components have been represented where appropriate by conventional symbols in the drawings, showing only those specific details that are pertinent to understanding the embodiments of the present invention so as not to obscure the disclosure with details that will be readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art having the benefit of the description herein.